Security Demands
Carlos Ramirez, President of our municipality of La Huerta, made a special appearance in La Manzanilla to respond to residents´concerns about crime in the village. An estimated 300 to 400 locals and expats, about a 50/50 mix, filled the plaza for the January 12 evening meeting.
Crime and La Manzanilla don’t usually go together in the same sentence. At issue, however, were the dozens of home burglaries over the past several months that remain unsolved, and basically not investigated. No nationality or neighborhood has been exempt. Break-ins have occurred not just during the night, when residents (and, in some cases, their dogs) have been asleep, but in broad daylight when no one was home as well.
To date, the thief or thieves have targeted mainly laptop computers, cameras, jewelry, and cash. Many in town suspect that the burglars are “locals” who know the victims´ routines and are familiar with their homes. Everyone is fed up with the continuing problem and the lack of response from law enforcement. Or perhaps the lack of a police presence in La Manzanilla is the problem.
That was the primary focus of the handful of residents who voiced their concerns at the town-hall style meeting, and the topic that drew the most applause and vocal agreement from the crowd. La Manzanilla not only has no police protection, but our Delegacion, the building that houses the office of our mayor and the non-existent police station, hasn’t even had a working telephone for the past few years.
Ramirez cried “pobre” (poor), as governments and politicians are wont to do these days, in response to La Manzanilla’s request for a 24/7 police force. Logistics, housing, and mechanical issues with the police trucks were other problems he cited. (He did, however, promise “to set in motion the very next day paperwork for a working telephone in the mayor’s office.”)
One year-round expat quickly countered his objections. “A group of La Manzanilla residents has volunteered to remodel the Delegacion into comfortable living space for at least four officers,” she said. She also suggested that motorcycles or horses are better suited to patrolling and responding in our terrain than the big trucks, anyway. (Way to go, person who prefers her name not be mentioned!) Ramirez responded that the Municipio would pay for remodeling materials and provide two quads for patrols. A small delegation from here is scheduled to meet with him soon in La Huerta to work out details.
This being Mexico, no one expected the 6 p.m. meeting to start anywhere close to on-time, which it did, so more than half of the attendees straggled in late. A few expats, on the other hand, left early, shaking their heads. “Same old, same old,” they said. “He’s just telling us what he knows we want to hear.” Municipal elections are scheduled for this July, so they could have a point. Then again, maybe La Huerta does recognize the negative economic impact, all the way up the money chain, if tourists are afraid to visit La Manzanilla because it is perceived as being “unsafe.” Stay tuned for further updates.
No one has been injured in the La Manzanilla thefts, but the murder of Robin Wood during a home-invasion robbery on January 3 in the nearby community of Melaque precipitated a call to action from our own municipality. A similar meeting took place in Cihuatlan on January 10, with officials from that municipality governing Melaque, San Patricio, Villa Obregon and Barra de Navidad. (See Guadalajara Reporter stories in the January 7 and 14 editions.)
Art Walk 2012
A record 36 La Manzanilla artists will participate in this year’s Camino del Arte on Sunday, January 29. Their work will be exhibited at 15 locations during the 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. event. Most artists will be on site, as well.
Items available for viewing and purchasing pleasure at this fourth annual La Manzanilla event include original paintings, sculptures, jewelry and crafts. Maps with participating venues and the artists should be distributed soon and will be available at restaurants and shops throughout town.
Fiesta de Toros
The much anticipated 31st annual La Manzanilla rodeo kicks off on Saturday, February 4, with Gringo Day. Tickets and newly designed T-shirts are on sale now, for 200 pesos and 100 pesos respectively, at Manos Ayudandos book store, Mexico Property Resources Realty, Palapa Joe’s, and Le Club upstairs watering hole. Proceeds fund the lunch and dance traditionally hosted by the foreign community to thank our Mexican neighbors for their continued hospitality. Activities begin at 2 p.m. at the Casino.
Day two, Dia de Pollos y Pollas, will be sponsored by the current generation of young Mexican business owners in La Manzanilla. Ejido Day will conclude this year’s festivities on February 6, commemorating the day our ejido was chartered. The bacchanalian Farola parade through town will start at the plaza each night of the rodeo around 8 p.m., beginning on Friday, February 3.
Vagina Monologues Redux
Bare Bones Productions reprise of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” on January 16 at Las Cabañas restaurant was another sold-out performance. La Manzanilla’s readers-theater group enjoyed similar success when they debuted the popular show last year.
Cast members Arleen Pace, Rhema Cossover, Joanie Marlow, Jose Rogers, Judith Boel and Valerie Denford followed the lives of a handful of women, based on case histories from all over the world, relating their challenges to growing up female. Some stories were side-splittingly funny; others were heart wrenching. George Rachlin, as “Just the Facts Man,” cited a list of atrocities against women throughout history. Arleen Pace, who is involved year-round with the Lakeside Little Theater and has performed for the Ajijic-based Naked Stage, also directed the production.
Bare Bones is currently rehearsing “The Dixie Swim Club,” a story of five unforgettable Southern women who met in college and whose friendship continues for over 30 years. They hope to present this popular comedy by Jesse Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten in late February. And these are just the women who can pull it off!